Commission to study issues related to consumer protection

The Higher Committee for Administrative Organization at the Institute of Public Administration is studying a proposal to establish a higher public commission for the general administration of cooperatives and consumer protection.
Dr. Abdurrahman Al-Shaqawi, manager of the institute and chairman of the preparatory committee to study the proposal, said the project is still under consideration and that no details are available at the present time.
The draft of the proposal includes the establishment of a regulatory, supervisory and executive general commission to transfers functions and powers of consumer affairs, the protection of fair competition and consumers, as well as other tasks in this domain from the agency of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Where establishment of a Ministry of Supply and Consumer Protection is concerned, the draft pointed out that the Saudi Standards, Quality and Metrology Organization will follow the prospective ministry, as well as the General Organization For Grain Silos & Flour Mills, in addition to the latter changing its name to the General Organization for Food Security.
The objective of the project is to charge the responsibility of supervising the implementation of polices and regulatory, supervisory and executive functions to one unified body, Nasser Al-Toam, chief executive of the Consumer Protection Association, said.
“The proposal was submitted six months ago, but it is worth mentioning that transferring such tasks and functions of consumer affairs to the Commission will enable the Commerce Ministry to assume its other assigned tasks related to internal and foreign trade and industry,” he said.
He pointed out that a number of ministries and service sectors associated with consumer protection are suffering structural and functional dispersion, consequently leading to performance imbalance throughout its levels of work as compared to its financial and human capabilities.
The committee of economic affairs and energy at the Shoura Council earlier demanded that the ministry should step up its field efforts to protect consumers, safeguard their rights, and fight commercial cheating.